IDEALS OF INTERNATIONAL FINNO-UGRIAN ETHNOPOLITICAL MOVEMENT AND THE CONTEMPORARY «MERYA RENAISSANCE» IN THE UPPER REACHES OF THE VOLGA

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the processes of construction of new ethnocultural identities in modern Russia. «Merya Renaissance» in the historical region of Zalesie in-between the Volga and Oka Rivers, which has been existing in the Russian ethnic and cultural regional discourse since the beginning of the 21st century, is used as an example. The concept of the «Finno-Ugric world» influenced the «Merya revitalism». The individual representatives of the Russian population in the region believe that the current inhabitants of post-Meryan territory are ethnic and cultural heirs of the extinct Finno-Ugric tribe Merya. «Merya» movement aims to save the population of the Upper Volga area from excessive statism and, on the contrary, to promote the patriotism of the small homeland. The author provides analysis of the main theoretical sources within «Merya» movement, – Internet resources and Printed matter, and attempts to forecast the prospects of this regional phenomenon in the conditions of modern globalization.